UK irregular hours holiday calculator (12.07%)

How much paid holiday you build up each pay period if your hours change or you only work part of the year, and the rolled-up holiday pay some employers add to each payslip.

Holiday built up in this pay period

4 hours

12.07% of 35 hours worked

12.07% of your hours
4.22 hours before rounding
£44.06 rolled-up pay

You worked 35 hours. At 12.07%, that builds up 4.22 hours of paid holiday, which rounds to 4 hours (to the nearest hour). You can take it from your next pay period.

If your employer pays holiday pay “rolled up”, it is 12.07% of your total pay for the period: £44.06 as a separate line on your payslip, on top of the £364.70 for the hours worked, £408.76 in all. If you are paid holiday when you take it instead, your pay for a week of leave is based on your average pay over the last 52 weeks in which you were paid.

This is the 12.07% method for leave years that began on or after 1 April 2024. For a leave year that began earlier, your employer can keep the old method until the leave year renews.
Rolled-up holiday pay is only for irregular hours and part-year workers, and your employer has to show it as a separate item on your payslip. With a regular pattern of hours, use the holiday entitlement calculator instead.
These are the rules for Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own rules (nidirect.gov.uk).

I’m not an accountant or a financial advisor. This is an estimate, for information only. Check with a professional before you decide.

Your numbers

example: change the numbers

Hours you worked in the pay period

The hours you actually worked in the period your pay covers: a week, a fortnight or a month. Holiday builds up from these hours, not from your contract.

Your total pay for the period

Optional. What you were paid for those hours, before tax, to see the rolled-up holiday pay if your employer uses it. Enter 0 to leave it out.

Weeks of paid holiday in your contract

Leave 5.6 for the legal minimum. If your contract gives you more, the share is higher: the weeks of holiday ÷ (52 − the weeks of holiday).

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The calculation
	Weeks of paid holidaythe legal minimum	5.6
	Share of the hours worked5.6 ÷ 46.4 working weeks	12.07%
	Hours you worked	35
=	Holiday built up, before rounding	4.22 hours
	To the nearest hour	4 hours
	Your total pay for the period	£364.70
÷	One hundred, to the nearest penny	£3.65
×	Share of pay	12.07
=	Rolled-up holiday payto the nearest penny	£44.06

How it works

You count as an irregular hours worker if the hours you work in each pay period are wholly or mostly variable under your contract, and as a part-year worker if there are whole weeks in the leave year when you do not work and are not paid.
Divide the hours you worked in the pay period by 100 and multiply by 12.07. Round to the nearest hour: that is the holiday you built up. 12.07% is 5.6 weeks of holiday ÷ 46.4 working weeks.
If your employer uses rolled-up holiday pay, divide your total pay for the period by 100, round to the nearest penny, multiply by 12.07 and round to the nearest penny.

Worked example

Someone paid weekly at £10.42 an hour works 35 hours: pay £364.70. Holiday built up: 35 × 12.07% = 4.2245, which is 4 hours. Rolled-up holiday pay: £3.65 × 12.07 = £44.0555, which is £44.06.

Sources

Text checked on October 12, 2026

Good to know

The 12.07% share exists because the 52 weeks of the year less 5.6 weeks of holiday leave 46.4 working weeks, and 5.6 is 12.07% of 46.4.
If you are paid weekly and work 4 hours a week or less, the holiday you build up rounds down to nothing. GOV.UK says it may be appropriate for the employer to round up to the next half hour or hour, so ask.
Hours of holiday are taken from the next pay period. Your employer cannot use rolled-up holiday pay for a regular-hours worker, however few hours they work.
If your contract gives you more than 5.6 weeks, the share is higher: with 6 weeks it is 6 ÷ 46 = 13.04%.
While you are off sick or on family leave you keep building up holiday. GOV.UK has a separate method for it, based on the average hours worked in the 52 weeks before.
Not legal advice. For a dispute about holiday pay, Acas, Citizens Advice or your trade union can help.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 12.07% rule?

For irregular hours and part-year workers, paid holiday builds up at 12.07% of the hours worked in each pay period. It matches the 5.6 weeks of holiday a year: take 5.6 weeks off the 52 weeks of the year and 46.4 working weeks are left, and 5.6 is 12.07% of 46.4.

Who counts as an irregular hours worker?

Someone whose paid hours in each pay period are wholly or mostly variable under the contract, such as many zero-hours workers. A part-year worker has whole weeks in the leave year when they do not work and are not paid.

What is rolled-up holiday pay?

An extra amount added to each payslip to cover holiday pay, instead of paying it when you take leave. It is 12.07% of your total pay for the period, shown as a separate item. It is allowed only for irregular hours and part-year workers.

How is the holiday rounded?

To the nearest hour: less than 30 minutes rounds down to nothing, 30 minutes or more rounds up to the next hour. So 8.2076 hours is 8 hours and 3.621 hours is 4 hours.

When can I take the holiday I built up?

From your next pay period. You build up holiday from the first hours you work.